Different Sides of the Table
by unholymountain
Summary: Trip is sent to interrogate Raina. It doesn't go exactly as he planned.


"Be careful," the security guard warns. "One of our best guys needed a week of leave to get his head on straight after a few sessions with her."

Trip nods. "I'm not worried," he replies, and he means it, too. He's done interrogations before. But the guard gives him a skeptical look.

"You should be."

When he walks in she's sitting at the table, one hand cuffed to the side of it. She doesn't appear to present much of a threat; she's small, delicate, with big eyes that stare up at him as he makes his way across the room.

"I'm Agent Triplett," he says as means of introduction, pulling out a chair. "I'm just here to ask you a few questions, that's all."

"Raina," she replies. "So you're the good cop, then?" He notices a faint but recent bruise on her cheekbone and anger stirs up in him, momentarily. They didn't tell him much about their procedure so far, just that she hadn't cracked.

He shakes it off. _She's the enemy, Antoine_. "Maybe not a good cop, but I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just here for some answers."

Her gaze is penetrating, unsettling. "Don't you ever get tired, Agent Triplett?"

This throws him for a loop. "Tired of what?" he finally responds. Maybe if he humors her, she'll be more receptive to his questioning.

He is rewarded with a bright smile. "Tired of being nothing more than a cog in a machine. Of following orders from people no more virtuous than the ones you are sent to eliminate." She reaches out with her one free hand, tracing an unknown shape on his cheek. "You could be so much more."

Trip sits stock-still, doesn't react to her words or movement. If he thought that would deter her, he was mistaken. She laughs.

"Oh, you don't see it today, do you. That's alright. One day, you will. And on that day, you will thank me for opening your eyes." At those words, she withdraws her hand and sits straight up, mirroring his position. "Now, aren't you going to ask your questions?"

He blinks. "Right. Um, yes. What do you know about the Hydra bases around the world?"

She tilted her head at him, eyebrows arching. "I've already told that to the first interrogator. Surely you have more..._interesting _material?"

Trip clenches his fist beneath the table, but Raina smirks and he knows she senses his discomfort. "Just answer the question, please."

She sighs. "And I had such high hopes for you." He resolutely ignores the flash of disappointment in his stomach. "I don't know much. I wasn't particularly concerned with Hydra. I was always more interested in...evolution."

He raises his eyebrows. She smiles again, and Trip _shouldn't _find it this attractive. "I know a skeptic when I see one, Agent Triplett." She studies him, and then leans back, eyes bright. "But you...we have more in common than you would like to believe."

Trip leans forward, and suddenly his hands are around her throat and he is looking down at her. The face that meets his is filled with thrill where there should be terror. "Careful, Agent. You might discover a part of yourself that you don't like."

He jerks back. "I'm-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He stares at his hands. When did he start being this violent?

"You're interrogating me. Don't apologize for what you are." She cocks her head at him. "But you're apologizing for what you're not, aren't you. My my, what a pure soul." She leans forward now, closing the distance between them. "May I ask you something?"

He can only nod.

"What's your first name?"

He blinks. She laughs, again, and it _shouldn't _sound so nice. "Antoine," he gets out, barely.

"Antoine," she repeats. "I like it." Her hand dances across his. "Well, Antoine, I think this interrogation is over."

He stares at her. She shrugs.

"You don't seem to be making much progress. And I've planted the seeds I wanted to plant. They need time to grow."

She's right, but he could stay. Should stay. _Would _stay, but he's half-enthralled and half-terrified, and he gets up to leave the room, not knowing why he does it. She catches his hand as he stands up.

"Antoine?" For the first time, her voice is needy, insistent. He turns around, puzzled, perplexed, and quite possibly in love.

"Come back tomorrow, okay?"

A/N: I love love love Raina's character but she's super hard to write, I hope I did her justice!


End file.
